


truly the angel's best

by aesthetichomo



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Parent AU, seriously its all fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 04:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11395542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aesthetichomo/pseuds/aesthetichomo
Summary: "Not too bad, huh? I tried to tell Papa that yellow was too cliché for a nursery, but I suppose it works.”or, dan and phil's early morning with their newborn baby girl.





	truly the angel's best

Dan hasn't slept more than three hours when he hears the crying. It scares him at first, because Phil is right next to him, sound asleep as well, and he temporarily forgets that _oh yeah_ , they took home their newborn baby girl a few days ago.

Phil is still snoozing, even as the cries get louder and more frustrated. It's not surprising though, Phil has literally slept through earthquakes and rain so heavy it flooded the roads. Nonetheless, Dan still sighs tiredly as he shucks the blankets off his legs and stretches, tugging his pants on. Their dog, Molly, shakes herself awake and watches intently.

He is so, _so_ in the lead for Number One Dad.

When he makes his way to the cot, Riley is on her back, little arms squirming where she's swaddled tightly in the almost brand new baby blanket. Her face is scrunched up sourly, cheeks tinted with a light rosy blush as she stares up at Dan.

He's glad they used Phil for conception, because there's no way her eyes could that beautiful if they used Dan. They’re a curious bright blue, clouded by sleep but still golden around the iris, like the sun itself lives in her. She has Phil's nose too, a bit raised by the bridge but still cute as a button when Dan pokes it. She's nearly a carbon copy of Phil, something Dan is grateful for.

He picks her up gently, one hand supporting her head and the other on her lower back. Just the touch has her cries reduced to slight whimpers, Dan's hand rubbing along the softness of her scalp. She smells fine, not too stinky, but he takes her to the nursery to change her diaper just in case, with Molly following close behind.

(They pulled Riley’s cot into their bedroom the very first night they took her home. Phil had grown restless with nerves, and after the fourteenth ‘ _do you think she's okay_ ’, Dan gave up and scooted her cot next to the window, where the moon would pour light over her like a protector.)

“Close your eyes,” he mumbles, despite the fact he knows she can't comprehend it. He puts a hand over her eyes as he flips on the light, blinking hard to adjust to it. “There we go. Not too bad, huh? I tried to tell Papa that yellow was too cliché for a nursery, but I suppose it works.”

He sets her down on the changing table, scoping out the room for a moment. It's a very pastel yellow, a shade Phil swore was the exact same as his as a child, decorated with small duck and rabbit decals along the walls. The early morning sunrise streams in through the curtain, making everything seem golden.

“Let's get you changed,” he says, still keeping his voice low in case her ears are sensitive from the silence, “it’ll be Papa’s turn next time, yeah? He's a sleepy guy, especially since he spends all day holding you. I'll give him a freebie this time.”

Riley's little nose twitches up, mouth smacking as she watches Dan. He reaches into the drawers underneath her, pulling out one tiny diaper and a package of baby wipes with one hand as the other holds her chunky little legs.

“You're quite a beauty, aren't you?” He quips as he gets her cleaned up, poking her tummy. “Papa said you're the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. He cried when you were born, which was both heartwarming and unsettling. He doesn't cry all that much.”

Her fingers wrap around the width of his thumb, tugging it towards her mouth. “Hey, c’mon, I'm sure your dummy is better than my salty nails.”

She seems to think differently, trying her best to yank his thumb into her mouth before Dan moves it out of her grip, replacing it with a fresh plastic dummy. “See, isn't that better?” He asks playfully. “Papa picked the giraffe ones, so if they're weird, blame him. Papa picked out most of this stuff actually, I was just there for moral support. I didn't care what we bought, as long as we got you in the end.”

It's true, for the most part. Dan let Phil take the reigns on decorations and colour schemes, allowing him to choose whatever he thought was right, but once it came down to the technicalities, Dan found himself guiding them through the process.

The surrogate mother was a mutual decision, as they both felt it would feel best in their hearts if the baby had shared at least one of their DNA. Dan picked the first and middle name, Riley October Lester, and both agreed it was perfect. Most of the planning was a series of agreements and compromises that left both of them giddy and excited for their new baby girl.

“You are so perfect,” he whispers, a part of him slowly melting with adoration as she blinks up at him, “you make me and Papa so happy, dear. I can't explain- oh boy, here come the tears.” He smiles despite himself, stroking his pinkie over her chin. “Can't explain how long we've wanted this, wanted _you_. I told myself when I first met your Papa that all I wanted was a happy ending, and you’re exactly that. Papa still looks like he might cry every time he picks you up. That makes two of us, doesn't it?”

Riley's mouth twitches around her dummy, like she tries to smile. Even though Dan knows it's just muscle flexing, he can't help but let out a watery giggle.

“Let's sit down, yeah? Daddy is still a little drowsy.” He gets her back in his arms, walking over to the wooden rocking chair in the corner and sitting down with as little rattling as possible. “There we go. My mum used to have one of these, I think. She said they put me right to sleep.”

Dan slowly begins to rock back and forth, the chair creaking through the still, warm air of the nursery. Riley's head rests on the crook between his bicep and forearm, body held tight to Dan's chest with the blanket draped around her.

Naturally, his eyes slip closed just as hers do, and he begins to hum a soft tune. Everything feels so gentle, so fragile, and he doesn't even flinch when he hears someone walking towards the room.

“Already teaching her the classics. That didn't take long.”

Dan peeks his right eye open at the sound of Phil's familiar, groggy voice. He's stood in the doorway, bare chested with hair ruffled from a deep sleep, his lips quirked in a smile.

"Why don't you go to bed, I'll take it from here,” he suggests, holding out his hands. Molly wags her tail and trots over to him, plopping her fluffy bum on the carpet by his feet.

Dan shakes his head. “It's fine. I figured you needed a full night's sleep anyway. It's only 6.”

Phil smiles, walking towards him and taking a seat on the little ottoman next to the rocking chair. “Couldn't sleep alone. Too used to your cold feet and Molly's snoring,” he says.

Molly perks up at her name, nudging Phil's hand with her nose. Phil scratches her floppy ears, but keeps his gaze on Dan and Riley.

Dan shrugs. “I think she just wanted some attention. It gets lonely in that little cot, I'm sure. As for Molly,” he taps her paw with his foot, “she's just a little bugger.”

Phil brings a hand to the silky flits of hair at the very top of Riley's head, brushing it to the side. “Well, it gets awful lonely in that big bed too. I haven't slept alone in ten years. Or it might’ve been my Papa senses. I knew she wasn't in there the second I woke up. Isn’t that strange?”

“Here,” Dan murmurs, lifting Riley into Phil's arms, “have some cuddles. She just got changed, so you're on morning duty. Literally.”

Phil chuckles, taking the baby and swaying her side to side once she's settled. It falls relatively quiet, aside from Molly's whistley breaths and the sound of the rocking chair creaking.

“We got lucky, didn’t we?” Phil asks after a moment, looking up at Dan with shiny eyes. “Riley, Molly, the house, the nursery,” he sniffles, “we're the luckiest dads in the world.”

“Oh, love,” Dan whispers, wiping a bit of wetness from Phil's cheek, “we are. We are very, very lucky. We're one of the very few people that got exactly what they wished for.”

Phil's still a bit blubbery when he nods. “If someone told me ten years ago that this would happen- would happen with _you_ -”

Dan leans forward and presses his lips to the top of Phil's forehead. “I know, I know. Surreal, isn't it? Two weirdos like us, making something like this. Making a home,” he kisses Phil again, “making a family. Having a baby. It's been a long time coming.”

Riley starts making little noises from where she's being held, eyes closed but mouth opened in a tiny ‘o’. Phil bounces her a bit, just enough to keep her content, and glances at Dan.

“Much more to come still,” he says, “one won't be enough. Two or three. Four if they find a way to put both of us in one.”

“A couple more kids, a couple more dogs,” Dan replies, pushing Phil's hair away from his face and letting his touch linger on his temple, “a lifetime or two. Who knows.”

“This sounds an awful lot like your vows, you know.”

They talk a lot about the past, mostly out of nostalgia and fond memories, but the wedding is one they use sparingly. The recollections of silver wedding bands and a quiet room with no more than 10 seats in the middle of cherry blossom farm in Japan are something Dan holds close to his heart, and one he doesn't want to exercise too often. It's only been three years, sure, but Dan can still recount every last second leading up to marrying Phil. He remembers the tears, the laughing, the way his hands shook when he finally put a ring on Phil's finger, and the Beyoncé joke that followed.

“I told you it'd all happen one day,” Dan tells him, “now look where we are.”

He keeps it at that, not particularly trying to make Phil more weepy and sensitive than he already is. He's cried more in the past five days than he has in the past five years, and it's all been a bit of a shock to Dan. Not that he minds Phil being much more vulnerable, it's just a tad early for it right now.

“Well, look at that,” Phil remarks, nudging his head towards the clock, “7 already. Our alarm will be going off soon. Breakfast?”

Dan nods, standing up and rubbing at his eyes. “Guess I’ll make pancakes. I'll get her formula made too, you just keep her company.” He leans down and takes Phil's chin between his fingers, tipping his head up to leave a sparing kiss to his lips. “Love you.”

Phil's lips turn up slightly and he kisses Dan again. “Love you more. Remember, use warm water.”

“Obviously,” Dan mumbles against his lips. Another kiss. He can't help it. It's his favourite thing to do.

And as he multitasks flipping pancakes, frying bacon, brewing coffee and shaking up a bottle of formula, he realizes that maybe he was up to something all those years ago. Maybe 18 year old Dan was much smarter than he thought.

Maybe he did get his happy ending.

(Riley starts crying, and Phil tries to comfort her with knock knock jokes, and he is very sure he did.)

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on the tumz @ dansblue !! kudos and comment and stuff !! title taken from isn't she lovely - stevie wonder
> 
> also shoutout to danlands on tumblr bc she gave me advice w/o knowing it (im the anon asking about baby names and the papa/daddy thing...lov u)


End file.
